The Illinois power pop combo
Shoes made a big splash with the
Black Vinyl album in 1977. The homemade and self-released collection of snappy pop tunes powered by crunchy chords and huge hooks delighted fans of the sound and sent major labels running for their checkbooks. Elektra Records won the bidding war and sent the group to a real studio with a real producer to record what they hoped would break the band nationally. That never quite happened, as the liner notes to the four-disc box set
Elektrafied: The Elektra Years 1979-1982 make painfully clear. During the group's tenure with the label, they were pitted against producers who wanted to change their sound or didn't understand the way the band operated, saddled with inept PR teams, and basically left hanging when they didn't hit the top of the charts right away. Despite these challenges, the music
Shoes made is delightful and vital for power pop devotees. The group cranked out lilting British Invasion-influenced should-be-hits, foot-stomping rockers, and heartbreaking ballads with equal aplomb. 1979's
Present Tense is the strongest record of the batch; it captures more of the innocent charms of
Black Vinyl, has their definitive song -- "Too Late" -- and has the least glossy production. 1981's
Tongue Twister has some tunes that crank up the rock quotient and edge into
Cheap Trick territory, and 1982's
Boomerang comes closest to new wave and features a little bit of gimmicky synth work. Each album is packed with memorable songs, there's precious little filler, and the band's vocal harmonies are a treat throughout. Along with each album in its finished form, the set includes a full demo version of each record, which is a fascinating edition sure to please
Shoes fanatics. There's also a full disc of rarities including 12 extra demos and the excellent live set Shoes on Ice, a promo-only release from 1982 which proves that the band were able to pull off their studio-concocted sound on-stage. It's not hard to wonder how different the group's career might have been if they had a better major-label experience, or if they had stuck to being an indie band and kept making home-cooked albums, but, as this lovingly curated and put together box set shows again and again, what they actually did end up accomplishing during this era is first-rate power pop that borders on brilliance. ~ Tim Sendra